Colin's letter:

On Friday I have officially been out for 18 months, which is crazy. Friday was also the first day in the three weeks that I've been here that a member has fed us dinner. After dinner that member came with us to teach a part-member family. The dad has brain cancer and spine cancer and isn't a member so we were teaching him the Plan of Salvation. At seemingly random spots in the lesson, the member who was with us, looked at him and said, "When you die, and pass on to the Spirit World, you WILL be at peace," Which at that place in the lesson seemed weird, but it felt good, too. Also while we were at that lesson, we met their less-active 26 year old son, who just happens to be in town from Ohio and is the same age as the member we took with us to the lesson.

         Then on Saturday morning we went to Virginia Beach to a mission-wide conference, which almost never happens because our mission is so spread out, and Elder Quinton L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve, came to speak to our mission. The conference was so incredible! I have never felt the Spirit so strongly at any other meeting that I've been to on my mission. Everyone who was there was prepared and ready to learn, and he taught masterfully on repentance, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and becoming more like Christ, and he said some things to us all that he wouldn't have usually said to any audience. It was powerful. At the conference I also got to see many of the missionaries whom I have worked with in the past, which was great. I also gave Elder Cook a gold-colored tie that has little royal blue compass shaped dots on it, so if you see him wearing that tie you can be sure it's from me.
         On the way home from the conference we stopped for lunch at this burger place, and as we were standing waiting for our food, this guy was sitting at a table and he looked so familiar--but I couldn't figure out why. Then finally, he leaned over and asked me, "Hey, were you a missionary that was in Murfreesboro, North Carolina a little over a year ago?" And then it came back to me. I knew exactly who he was and what his name was! We had a great talk and I got to catch up on how he was doing.  16 months ago I taught him when I was serving in the Franklin Ward, and now 16 months later, in a completely different state, he was right there in the same restaurant, right here in Hampton, Virginia. He did not join the church, but he did read the Book of Mormon and came to church several times. He is going to school to be a Baptist minister.  I gave him a card about Easter and he said he would go and look up the website and watch the videos, so who knows why that all happened.

         We had to leave quick from lunch so we could get to the church to fill up the font for our investigator's baptism! To be fair, we have only taught him once... he was in the other ward, but with the new ward boundary changes he is now in our ward boundaries... just in time for his baptism, but hey, it was a great service and he is an amazing man. He overcame smoking, being an alcoholic, and just about every other adversity. It really is an amazing story that saved their whole family from divorce and even losing their home.

         BUT then after the baptism our day got really crazy.... We were riding our bikes down the road and we got a call saying that Oliver, our investigator with cancer, had just died!! and that we should get to the hospital immediately. We were only a few blocks from there so we went, and he was still laying there dead on the hospital bed with everyone gathered around crying. We sat and talked with the wife and family and prayed with them. We set a time for the bishop to come and meet with her and everything, and as we were talking, her 26 year-old less-active son asked us if he could talk with us in the hall. When we got into the hall he asked us, “What happens when we die? Where do we go? What is it like for my dad right now? What is he experiencing?” So we stood there and taught him about the Spirit World and the Resurrection, and the peace and rest that our member friend had testified to his father less than 24-hours earlier. He said, “I remember when I was young and went to church about baptisms for those who have passed on. How does that work? What can I do?”  Just that morning I was putting more pamphlets in my bag and I really strongly felt like I should grab just one Temples and Family pamphlet because I would need it that day, so when he asked us about the temple, I had one pamphlet about it with me to give him. Not only that, but we invited him, and he committed to us to start reading the Book of Mormon everyday, and to start going back to church, and he will hopefully bring his wife with him. It was so sad because of his father dying, but there are always blessings we receive even on the worst days.

         I know that this Church is the only true and living church, and that our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation brings us peace and joy. In times of trial, always look for the good. This all happened between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which seemed fitting to me. Until next time I hope y'all have a blessed week!

 

--Elder White